Kirk Cousins has never been anointed as the NFL’s best quarterback. People consider him to be a solid player, but not a special one. The performance he had in the Atlanta Falcons’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football fit the same bill.
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Cousins completed 68.9% of his passes for 230 yards and one touchdown in the 22-17 defeat. He also tossed one interception, which came on a play where he was hit while attempting to throw. Overall, his play was only decent. And he failed to lead Atlanta to a win on their final drive like he did in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles
After watching Cousins fall short in primetime, former FOX Sports personality Skip Bayless criticized teams for paying him high-end quarterback money. He also picked apart Cousins’ playing ability, pointing out three imperfections he believes hold Cousins back.
Kirk Cousins has his moments. But he’s no threat with his legs, he never stands strong in the pocket and too many throws don’t quite have enough mustard on ’em. Yet teams keep paying him fortunes.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) September 23, 2024
Some fans echoed Bayless’ sentiment, saying Cousins was a good but not a great quarterback. Others teased him by saying the same words could be applied to Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott (Bayless is a huge Cowboys fan).
He’s always been a “good” NFL starter, and that’s it! It goes back to 2015 when he played his 1st full season in Washington.
— Adam Battocchi (@AdamBattocchi) September 23, 2024
Sounds like Dak also.
— MarcoRizzolo (@MarcoRizzolo) September 23, 2024
Sunday may not have been Cousins’ finest hour, but he isn’t the one most responsible for the Falcons’ loss.
Poor play-calling doomed Atlanta versus Kansas City?
Generally speaking, there is not one big reason the Falcons lost to the Chiefs. They were hampered by multiple offensive line injuries.
A missed pass interference penalty in the end zone also didn’t help matters. The officials even appeared to help with an errant flag on their last offensive possession.
If there were one person to blame, though, it would be offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. A first-year OC, Robinson called back-to-back run plays on 3rd and 4th down with less than one minute remaining in regulation.
Kansas City snuffed both attempts to force a turnover on downs and clinch the win.
You have to walk a fine line between aggressiveness and conservativeness if you want to beat the Chiefs. When you’re just 13 yards away from scoring a touchdown to take the lead, you have to give your team a chance to get six points. And both runs Atlanta had were designed to try and pick up a first down rather than score a touchdown.
In that situation, you have to provide your offense an opportunity to find the end zone with whatever play you call. Robinson’s rushing attempts didn’t do so. It’s a mistake he will learn from as the Falcons prepare to battle the New Orleans Saints next week.
